Abstract
The processes and mechanisms of cultural evolution provide helpful insights into the origin and development of civilizations. This study analyses data from the national archaeological survey using kernel density analysis, a geospatial tool provided by ArcGIS10 software, to explore the spatiotemporal pattern of cultural evolution from the beginning of the Yangshao cultural period to the Bronze Age in the Yellow River basin. Agricultural development and the environmental background of this region were reconstructed using published flotation materials and high-resolution paleoclimate records. The results indicate that cultural expansion and differentiation from Yangshao (7000–5000 BP) to Longshan period (4600–4000 BP) are responding to the establishment and strengthening of millet-based agriculture and the appearance of multiple subsistence strategies in the context of environmental deterioration. To the Bronze Age, the center of sites accumulates to the Central Plains and Shandong, in contrast to the continuous cultural expansion and differentiation. The opposite circumstance may result from early urbanization along with the formation of a social system with high centralization of power.
Highlights
The process and influencing factors of cultural evolution have been widely studied (Weiss et al, 1993; DeMenocal et al, 2001; Dong et al, 2012; Dong et al.2013; Kennett et al, 2012; Medina-Elizalde and Rohling, 2012; Cui et al, 2018)
This study examines the spatiotemporal pattern of sites from the Yangshao period, Longshan period, and Bronze Age in the Yellow River basin with the use of kernel density analysis, a geospatial software tool
When verifying the accuracy of the site area information, we found that the two aforementioned sites with an extremely large size in Shandong Province were resurveyed in 2009, and the sizes were only recorded as 2400 and 15000 square meters on the website of Dongying Museum
Summary
The process and influencing factors of cultural evolution have been widely studied (Weiss et al, 1993; DeMenocal et al, 2001; Dong et al, 2012; Dong et al.2013; Kennett et al, 2012; Medina-Elizalde and Rohling, 2012; Cui et al, 2018). The Neolithic is one of the most pivotal periods to examine cultural evolution because of the major changes associated with the development of food-producing economies and growing population unseen in prior periods. By studying the spatiotemporal pattern of cultural evolution and its influencing factors, we can better understand the origin and changing mechanisms of a civilization. The Yellow River basin is the cradle of Chinese civilization. The earliest Neolithic sites are distributed along the Yellow River basin from east
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